Baldwin Wallace University receives National Endowment for the Humanities grant

Baldwin Wallace University has received a three-year, $150,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities via its Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education grant program. The grant will be utilized by the university to enhance its health humanities education through the implementation of a new minor, a certificate program, and a core competency track in the general education curriculum.

According to an article on Baldwin Wallace University’s website, Dr. Denise Kohn, who is an English professor and the project director for the grant project, was quoted as saying of the grant, "Studies in the humanities help to develop a deeper knowledge of understanding and empathy in healthcare professionals, which can protect against their own burnout and improve patient outcomes.” She added, "Health humanities focuses on the intersection between health sciences and the humanities, so the goal here is for students to take courses in bioethics, the history of science and sociology of medicine, along with courses in literature and music and world languages that really focus on the human experience.”

Dr. Chris Kuchenrither, Dr. Emilia Lombardi, and Dr. Molly Swiger helped Dr. Kohn map out the project, and Dr. Kohn, Dr. Kuchenrither, and nursing professor Yvonne Smith conducted research about the humanities in undergraduate health education.

The project is an effort to “humanize healthcare.”

Dr. Kohn said, "Healthcare systems are made up of accountants and office managers. There's this whole job ecosystem around healthcare. We think that healthcare humanities is a really good niche study for our students at BW in our Northeast Ohio region.”

For more information about Baldwin Wallace University, visit the school’s website.